well if he said that, he was spot on. I first heard some of her country not long after she won and I knew right away she had a pretty good voice. Then I saw her do some tribute song (9/11 tribute maybe? or some military tribute) a couple yrs ago on youtube and I got chills. The woman gave me goosebumps on my arms that almost hurt. I think it was at some country music awards show or at some tribute concert (gah, wish I could remember).
I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a fan, but damn if I don't appreciate her talent. I'm sure if I listened to more of her music, I'd probably really like her.
Oh one more thing, I just remember, I did watch her final on AI, it was against Bo Bice, who I was actually pulling for. I thought he totally kicked ass when he sang Vehicle and was disappointed that they gave it to a country gal. Where's Bo Bice today? pawning his gospel albums out of the backseat of his station wagon somewhere I think.
